India says cheetah deaths not alarming, to consult experts

The recent deaths of the animals have raised questions about the management of the ambitious project of reintroducing the fastest land animal into India after 70 years

A cheetah is loaded into a truck after being sedated, before being flown with eleven others from South Africa to India under an agreement between the two governments to introduce the African

Indiais taking steps to ensure the wellbeing ofcheetahs brought from southern Africa, the government has told the Supreme Court, as concerns rise over thedeathsof the world's fastest land animal re-introduced intoIndiaafter 70 years.

Six adultcheetahs out of the 20 imported from South Africa and Namibia in September last year and February 2023 have died since March. Three cubs born in the country have also perished.

Of those six, a femalecheetahfrom Namibia died of an infection from a maggot infestation at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh last week.

Thedeathshave raised questions about the management of the ambitiousproject, championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with conservationists petitioning the Supreme Court over the animals' wellbeing.

The government told the top court on Monday that the project has had its challenges but thedeathsdidnotcall for alarm, according to an advocate who was present at the hearing.

Expertsare beingconsulted for the project and the government is exploring ways to directly disseminate updates about the health of thecheetahs, the government told the court.

Conservation biologist Dr Laurie Marker, founder of theCheetahConservation Fund and an adviser to the project, told Reuters that the loss of somecheetahs was to be anticipated in this unique experiment, saying, "reintroductions are a hard ask".

According to the originalagreement, 10-12cheetahs will be imported toIndiafrom African countries annually for five years, starting in 2022, at an estimated cost of 910 million rupee ($11.4 million) for the first phase of the project.

Cheetahs died out inIndiaabout seven decades ago.